Senegalese president dissolves parliament and holds early legislative elections

On September 13, 2024, news from Dakar, Senegal. Senegalese President Basiru Diome Fayé dissolved the opposition-led parliament on Thursday, paving the way for early legislative elections. The new elections are scheduled for November 17. In a televised speech, Fayé asked voters to give his party a mandate to carry out “promised systematic changes”.

Analysts believe that given Fayé's popularity and his advantage in the March presidential election, his party, the Senegalese Patriotic Party, is highly likely to obtain a majority of seats. The opposition platform led by former president Macky Sall condemned this measure and accused Fayé of “perjury”.

The 44-year-old Fayé won the election in March and became Africa's youngest elected leader. His victory less than two weeks after being released from prison reflects the dissatisfaction of Senegalese young people with the country's development direction. During the election campaign, he promised to carry out extensive reforms to improve people's living standards. But six months later, the promises have not been fulfilled. Fayé and Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko blamed the parliament, as their party does not hold a majority in parliament.

In June, the opposition alliance and the government had disputes over budget debates. The founder of the “Africa Pact” think tank said that the tension between the government and parliament is unprecedented. Political ***ysts pointed out that Fayé's decision to dissolve the National Assembly is risky, as the parliament needs to vote on next year's budget by the end of December, and the new elections may make it difficult to meet the deadline.

The April presidential election tested Senegal's reputation as a stable democratic country in West Africa. In recent years, the region has been hit by coups and attempted coups. Fayé and Sonko were released from prison less than two weeks before the vote. Senegal has been hit by inflation. Many young people are engaged in informal jobs and it is also a major source of illegal immigrants. Thursday's announcement was made a few days after a migrant ship capsized, which killed at least 39 people.